We kicked off our 2009 mission focus in Jamaica the week after Easter. Our next international effort was to be in Mexico the latter part of May. The past couple of weeks have been interesting. I heard the news about the swine flu last week with the epicenter located in Mexico. The Mexico work was going to include medical clinics (not a great idea in a flu outbreak) and Backyard Bible club work. With school closed and other public gatherings at a standstill, things were not looking good. I made a joint decision with the doctor in Mexico that we were to be working with that we would not make the trip. Today, news was released that the International Mission Board has restricted travel to and from Mexico also.Personally, I don't worry about much of anything. I think the media has gone absolutely mad over this, and blown things WAY out of proportion (I could still be wrong, but I hope not). When compared to regular seasonal flu, this outbreak has been minimal so far. I went to East Asia when the Avian Flu was supposed to end the world, and it didn't. But logistically, the work in Mexico would not have been possible.
I tried to find a place for our team to go the same week. I quickly started to feel like the Apostle Paul, when he wrote that the Holy Spirit would not permit him to go to Bithynia. I encountered closed door after closed door.
I decided to contact USAir. If you travel much at all, you know what a quagmire dealing with an airline can be. We were able to cancel our tickets and retain a credit to be used in the future, to the same country. USAir has been advertising that they are waiving the change fees to Mexico. What the good Lord giveth, the fine print taketh away.
Due to the fact that the second leg of our trip is on an Air Mexico, USAir said they would have to charge us $150 per ticket. I discovered that Air Mexico was charging a $37 change fee. I said to the USAir representative, "let me get this straight. USAir is waiving the fee, but is not waiving the fee because Air Mexico has a change fee. I said, but Air Mexico is charging $37 and you are telling me you are charging $150 instead?" Completely logical, right? I have an email into Customer Service to hopefully get a resolution for when we rebook not to have to pay the $150.
We are tentatively considering early August to follow through with our trip to Mexico. For now, I am viewing this as a lesson in patience and faith. I know God has a plan for our folks who committed to do this work. I am praying all of this passes soon.
